Maine is one of the most beautiful places in the world and yet one of the poorest states in the country. The contrast between the richness of our environment and the poorness of our economy creates real risks to Maine’s unique quality places and its future. GrowSmart Maine’s role in addressing these risks is to raise awareness and support of smart growth by demystifying the principles and connecting Mainers with the resources they need to manage the growth and change in their communities.

GrowSmart Maine’s work is grounded in the connections between the conservation of natural resources, community revitalization and economic development. That is, by definition, smart growth. Core principles such as strategic land conservation, sustainable economic development, efficient transportation systems, climate change mitigation and adaptation and even opportunities for optimal personal health are achievable with smart growth principles, policies and projects.

Our goal is to ensure that future generations will be willing and able to call Maine home.

Why plan for growth and change, when it seems so much easier to simply react?

When there is a distinct and shared vision for your community - when residents, businesses and local government anticipate a sustainable town with cohesive and thriving neighborhoods - you have the power to conserve your beautiful natural spaces, enhance your existing downtown or Main Street, enable rural areas to be productive and prosperous, and save money through efficient use of existing infrastructure.

A collaboration between the Maine Forest Service and GrowSmart Maine, Project Canopy is Maine's urban and community forestry program. Our Mission: Create and maintain healthy urban and community forests for or economic, ecological, and quality of life benefits for Mainers.

GrowSmart Maine is preparing to gear up and engage in the 127th legislative session! As we weigh in on key issues, we will post our progress and views here on our site. We hope you too will engage in the process, sharing your thoughts with us and with your elected officials.

Can commercial strips in the small town environment such as we find in Maine be retrofit to meet the needs of both property owners and the public?

To answer the question, three design exercises were carried out in cooperation with local planners and the owners of (1) an older strip shopping center in an in-town location, (2) an older strip shopping center in a suburban location, and (3) a group of properties in an emerging strip along a rural arterial and, in each case, local planners and design and development consultants.

In 2007, GrowSmart Maine led the creation of the Maine Downtown Coalition, a collection of non profit organizations, town and city officials, Main Street programs, business people and others dedicated to revitalizing Maine communities and fostering redevelopment of some of our most unique assets: our historic Main Streets and downtown districts.

Standish, a growing town of about 10,000, was selected for GrowSmart Maine's Model Town Project in part because of their readiness to implement their new Comprehensive Plan. GrowSmart Maine and its project team facilitated citizen-led efforts to implement "smart growth" strategies from Standish's new Comprehensive Plan. The project's key goals were to revitalize the village area around Standish Corner, attract new businesses, and conserve Standish's open spaces and rural character. On June 8th. 2011, the Standish town Council unanimously voted to adopt Form-Based Code. This makes Standish the first town in Maine to do so.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who helped make the GrowSmart Maine Summit 2012 a success! We've posted videos of the keynote addresses and plenary sessions, speech transcripts, participant list, panelist bios and information on all our sponsors. Thank you for your part in keeping Maine...Maine.

Sponsors help make the GrowSmart Maine Summit happen each year. The support of these companies and organizations reflects their commitment to sustainable prosperity and to work together with GrowSmart Maine and diverse others for a better Maine.

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Mission Statement

GrowSmart Maine promotes sustainable prosperity for all Mainers by integrating working and natural landscape conservation, economic growth and community revitalization.

We promote Quality of Place by convening and engaging in public conversations about Maine’s future, contributing common sense policy analysis, educating the public, advocating for state and local change and supporting model practices.